Macbeth: Takino style
by phantom.ryder
Summary: Another part of the series that began with Tomo stars in: A midsummer night's disaster. It's the drama club's third performance... and yes, the girls have new recruits! Will the group's chemistry match? It seems two people's certainly do...


--

"Miss Yukari wants us to what?"

"Recruit new members to our troupe! As of right now we have three new members! But we were here first so technically we're seniors, and you know what that means?,"

Yomi gave the wildcat her usual deadpan expression.

"No? Well I'll tell you! It means we can be senpai!," Tomo continued.

"The fact that you think you can be senpai to anyone is… it's just disturbing to me Tomo. Besides we've only been doing this whole drama thing for a few weeks, we're not experts. Trust me, no one in the world is going to be calling you…"

"Takino-senpai!,"

"What in the hell?!"

"Why hello there Masaaki!," said Tomo before going over and patting the young man on the shoulder in a rather condescending manner.

"Ohyama, what are you doing calling Tomo senpai?"

"I'm the newest member of your troupe! So naturally…"

"No Ohyama. Just no. You can call Tomo, 'Tomo' or if the situation permits, moron or idiot wildcat. 'Senpai' should never be used to address her. Understand?"

Ohyama nodded and quickly walked off to avoid being yelled at again.

"Yomi, why do you always have to ruin all my plans?"

"Takino-senpai!," someone else called from behind Yomi.

"Dammit, will you people stop!"

Tomo, who sensed that her friend's anger rating was getting closer and closer to overdrive walked off a little to avoid damage to herself when Yomi finally went off.

"Sorry Yomi, I was just kidding anyway," Chihiro said as Yomi's glare caused her to take a small step backwards. "Anyway, guess what? Kaorin and I have also decided to join your drama club!"

Chihiro looked around to make sure Kaorin wasn't around before leaning in and whispering…

"Miss Yukari thought it might be a good idea. I think she's getting sick of Kaorin having mini-nervous breakdowns every single time Miss Sakaki does something on stage. Hopefully this will solve our problems."

Yomi nodded.

"I agree, it's a very good idea. It took us half an hour to calm Kagura down after that whole pen throwing incident."

Osaka walked in and Chihiro flashed her a smile.

"Kasuga-senpai!"

Chihiro then looked over at Yomi to check her reaction.

"No arguments here," she said. "Just… never Tomo ok?"

Chihiro nodded before bounding off to join Osaka who was making her way to her desk.

"Kasuga-senpai! Or maybe I should say Kasuga-kaichou?," Chihiro said with a laugh.

"Huh? Are you talking to me?"

"Umm yeah, Kaorin and I just joined your drama troupe Osaka, I was just being polite. You are a senior in the drama club after all and you're the director no less."

"Ohh, well you don't have to call me senpai. And don't call Tomo that either, Yomi will just yell at you. Anyway have you heard what play we're doing next?"

"No I haven't actually…"

"Neither have I, so you've decided now Osaka?," said Yomi who had just walked over, followed by Sakaki and Kagura.

"Yo," the latter said.

Sakaki just gave them all her 'hello' nod.

"I think this time we'll do Macbeth," Osaka said.

"And which lead will I be playing?," the Takino wildcat inquired as she joined the group crowded around Osaka's desk.

Chiyo-chan and Kaorin closely followed her, the youngest being bombarded with questions, or rather statements regarding Sakaki's dramatic prowess.

Chiyo gave the group a weak smile before sitting down.

"We've decided on a play?," she asked.

Osaka nodded.

"Macbeth."

"Ooh! How exciting!," said Tomo, rising out of her seat.

"You don't know anything about Macbeth do you Tomo?"

Tomo sat down shooting Yomi annoyed looks.

"So? I should still get to play a lead! Right Osaka?"

"Right."

"What?," asked Kagura, now taking her turn to protest.

"Tomo as a lead again? Fine, but I don't want to be onstage when she does any swordplay ok?"

"Kagura I don't think anyone should be onstage when Tomo's wielding a sword."

Osaka handed out copies of the play to her troupe.

"Tomo doesn't get a sword this time."

"What?! No way Osaka you just said I can be a lead!"

Yomi smirked.

"I think Osaka has figured out the perfect role for you Tomo."

"I know I said that Tomo, so this time you can play Lady Macbeth," Osaka said.

"Fine but I better get a lot of dramatic stage time!"

"It's you Tomo, so… I'm sure you will," Yomi assured her.

--

"Alright, now that's decided, you wanna hand out the rest of the roles Osaka?"

The director nodded and looked around thoughtfully at the faces around her.

She broke them up into groups, putting Chiyo, Kaorin and Chihiro in one, Kagura and Sakaki in the next and Ohyama and Yomi together in the last.

"Oooh Yomi and…"

A sharp smack on the head from an irritated Yomi stopped whatever it was that Tomo was going to throw out of her mouth.

"Ok, first group, the three witches. Second group, Macbeth and Banquo and third group Malcolm and Macduff."

"Wait wait wait… if all that goes in the order of how you called out the names for the groups… and Lady Macbeth just happens to Macbeth's wife, then I'm married to…"

"No way Osaka! You can't marry me off to Tomo! You marry Tomo!"

"Hey! What makes you think I actually want to marry you Kagura? You moron!"

"Umm, it's not a real marriage," Chiyo-chan said trying to calm the newly 'married couple' down.

"I'd marry Miss Sakaki onstage," said Kaorin.

"Kaorin, you'd marry her for real!," said Tomo.

Ohyama stifled a laugh.

"What?," asked Sakaki confused.

"Uhh… nothing?," said the wildcat trying to retract her words. She could see Kaorin morphing into her 'monster face' out of the corner of her eye.

Osaka cleared her throat.

"Ok, everyone lets start off with Act one, scene three. I need the witches, Macbeth and Banquo."

The girls stood over to where Osaka was motioning and proceeded to read out their lines.

"All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!," said Chihiro, earning her a nod of approval from Osaka.

"All heel Macbeth! Heel to thee, thaynee of Corridor!," Kaorin managed to get out.

Tomo, who was rather happy that Osaka had saved her from Kaorin's imminent attack, looked on, amused at the girl's obvious lack of dramatic ability.

Osaka made a mental note to remind herself that she needed to apologise to Shakespeare yet again and signalled for Chiyo to read their lines.

"All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!," said Chiyo-chan perfectly.

"Ok, Kaorin and Chiyo-chan swap lines there ok?," said Osaka.

"Right!," said Kaorin happily.

'Wow, so she really can't tell how bad she is,' Yomi mused in her head.

"Try Chiyo's line now Kaorin," Osaka directed.

"All heel Macbeth! Thowyou shall be king hereeeafter."

All heads turned to look at Sakaki, Osaka's eyes pleaded with the girl.

"Umm, Kaorin?"

Sakaki sighed before doing what she knew she had to.

"Yes Miss Sakaki?," replied the girl with stars in her eyes.

"You know, since there's more of us now, we're going to need more costumes and things, and uh, you're really good at that so…"

"Say no more Miss Sakaki I understand perfectly! Sorry Osaka, but Miss Sakaki has a better job for me to do ok?"

Osaka just nodded as she looked at Sakaki in awe.

"Right, well since we've had a change of plan, I'll be reading for the third witch then," she continued after she'd snapped out of her daze.

"Let's go again from the lines I pointed out earlier. Kagura you and Sakaki enter the scene, then you give the intro line."

"Got it," Kagura said before doing as she was told.

"_Speak, if you can. What are you?"  
_

The three witches said their lines, followed by Sakaki who of course delivered her line perfectly, making the nearby Kaorin swoon.

"_Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear  
Things that do sound so fair? I the name of truth,  
Are ye fantastical, or that indeed  
Which outwardly ye show? My noble partner  
You greet with present grace and great prediction  
Of noble having and of royal hope,  
That he seems rapt withal: to me you speak not.  
If you can look into the seeds of time,  
And say which grain will grow and which will not,  
Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear  
Your favours nor your hate."_

"Oh Miss Sakaki!"

"Uh right," said Tomo.

Chiyo-chan and the other two witches were getting rather disturbed by Kaorin's little outburst and instead of acknowledging it as Tomo had done, chose instead to ignore it and continue on with their lines.

--

"_Hail!," _Chiyo, Chihiro and Osaka said one after the other. 

"_Lesser than Macbeth, and greater_," said Chiyo before being closely followed on by Chihiro. 

"_Not so happy, yet much happier_."

"_Thou shalt beget kings, though thou be none: so all hail Macbeth and Banquo!!_ ," Osaka said before switching back into her directorial duties.

--

"After that line, I want the three witches to exit the stage and Macbeth and Banquo to walk right on through to the 'castle' which will be in the middle."

"We can get Kaorin to make some changes to the balcony the architecture club made for Romeo and Juliet," Chiyo-chan suggested.

"Yes! I'll make it perfect just for Miss Sakaki!"

Yomi gave the girl an odd look before leaning closer to Chihiro who had come to stand next to her.

"Umm, I think Miss Yukari's 'good plan' has gone and backfired on us… now Kaorin just takes to creeping out Sakaki every ten minutes instead of every performance."

Chihiro nodded and gave a sheepish smile to apologise for her friend._  
_

--

Osaka took the rest of the day to plan out how she wanted to "cut and paste" the play in order for each cast member to have a good amount of stage time but to also keep a solid flow to the performance.

It was lucky for the troupe that theatre really was one of Osaka's first loves. It just sat in third place, just behind bread eating contests and obstacle courses. Their director truly did have an alternative way of looking at the world around her.

--

On the day of the troupe's third performance, Tomo, Kaorin, Yomi and Ohyama were all standing behind the wings. Their audience had again grown since the last performance as Miss Yukari made sure to make this one open to the entire high school and not just to the year she taught.

The teacher sat back and watched the first act as she anticipated the congratulatory remarks she knew the other teachers had coming to her.

--

Kaorin had really come through with her artistic ability as the stage setting looked immaculate. She had transformed the balcony into a 'castle' with a few coats of paint and some construction paper.

She had also designed costumes to fit the entire cast, nobody bothered to question why Sakaki's overcoat was lined with Gold material while everyone else had theirs lined with plain black. Well, nobody except for Tomo.

"What's the deal Kaorin? I want gold on my stuff too. Why do I get this plain white dress? Give me gold dammit!"

"Tomo, it's a little late to complain now…"

"Gold!"

"Geez ok ok, here I got this tiara for you anyway. I found it in Osaka's costume box. It doesn't really fit with your character though so I'll just ask Osaka to let you have it later ok?

The wildcat nodded and snatched the shiny thing away.

"Ok director! I'm ready to perform now!"

"Shh Tomo… wait, Tomo?!," said Yomi. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be waiting up in the castle? You moron! Your part is coming up next! Damn, I didn't even see you there!"

--

… "_Hail Macbeth and Banquo!!" … _Osaka had just finished saying as the witches walked off the stage.

Kagura and Sakaki were left standing next to the castle wondering where in the hell their Lady Macbeth was.

Kagura cleared her throat and restrained herself from calling out 'Honey, I'm home!!'

About a second after that, Tomo came running on stage and scrambled up the tower…

"Ahem, Great Glamis! Worthy Cawdor!," the wildcat said. 'Hey I remembered a line! … Oh crap what happens next?'

Kagura, sensing that Tomo had no idea what she was supposed to say next just delivered her own line.

"My greatest love, I have arrived with great news! The king is being slain as we speak and hereafter, I shall be crowned the King of Scotland. All those who were avid supporters of that poor monarch have also been taken care of."

Tomo released an evil laugh and the two Macbeth's turned to Sakaki.

"Macbeth, comrade, I consider you my brother, please tell me, what is the meaning of this?!," Sakaki asked backing away slowly from Kagura.

"Draw your sword dear Banquo," the athlete said as she advanced. "I sent a messenger back here to my wife and informed her of the prophecies. She and I will do anything to make them come true."

"We will destroy everything that gets in our way Banquo! And that includes you! Husband, enough of this talk! Slay him now!," yelled Tomo.

"Macbeth, I pray you, cease this madness!," Sakaki pleaded, even though she had already pulled her sword.

"I'm sorry my friend. But for the sake of my bloodline, you must die."

--

Under Osaka's strict instructions, Yomi and Ohyama with the help of a pair of earmuffs and a blindfold, were to ensure Kaorin didn't hear any of what was happening on stage during this point. It was a safety issue.

--

Macbeth and Banquo engaged in a fierce stage battle, with Kagura winning out in the end. Throughout the whole act though, the poor athlete couldn't keep herself from looking around to make sure no stray projectiles hit her in the head this time around.

As Tomo made her way down the 'castle' to congratulate Macbeth, the wildcat tripped on one of Kaorin's stray paintbrushes and landed on Kagura in the most awkward positions imaginable.

--

"Hey, there's no kissing in this scene!," Osaka yelled out. 'Good God, I should just retire from directing these things.'

Yomi dropped her jaw, pulled the blindfold off Kaorin and placed it over Chiyo-chan's eyes instead.

Osaka then pushed her and Ohyama quickly onto the stage.

"Quick your lines, say them now!"

'That's it… I'll actually be expecting Shakespeare to haunt me after this little performance,' the actor/director thought.

Yomi and Ohyama stood onstage staring at the two girls who lay perfectly still on the ground. Sakaki who was laying close to them fought the urge to inch away.

"Macbeth!! Get up will you!," yelled Yomi, who was startled at the fact that though her two friends lay unmoving, neither had removed their lips from the other.

She then elbowed a staring Ohyama and gave him her usual head-shake and eye-roll combo.

The poor young man, who was guaranteed to never forget his first stage performance, delivered his first line.

"Yes Macbeth! You have slain my father and taken Macduff's family away from him. We shall ensure you die here today."

Kagura finally removed her lips from Tomo's and scrambled to her feet, looking around furiously for her sword.

The wildcat cleared her throat and handed it to her.

"Be careful," she said while looking into Kagura's eyes before she ran off the stage.

The three left standing, then engaged in the second sword battle with 'Macbeth' easily overpowering 'Malcolm'.

"You fight in vain, spawn of the ex-king! Those witches whispered something else in mine ear as Banquo and I walked away from them… no man born of woman can ever kill me!," Kagura shouted down to a trembling 'Malcolm' at her feet.

'Macduff' took the opportunity to 'stab Macbeth' from the side.

Their director looked on finally pleased with how the performance was shaping up.

'At least they did the ending the way I wanted them to,' she thought before pulling out her usual, self-congratulatory melon bread.

--

After the performance 

"Wow Yukari, your girls really are delving into these performances aren't they?"

"Well yes Nyamo. They certainly are," said Yukari who was impressed Osaka had the gall to direct her actors to do that in front of most of the school.

"I never figured 'Macbeth' to have that much of a… romantic feel to it. Until today that is…"

"Yeah, well, I don't blame you Nyamo… I don't think Shakespeare envisioned Macbeth would ever be performed quite like that."

"I quite liked it."

"Of course! As usual… my idea."

--

AN: Thanks for reading!! Please send over a review if you have a spare minute. I hope you enjoyed the read.


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